STAN'S BLOGS

[I’m on volunteer assignment at the University of Rochester , serving an humanitarian non-profit called AHEAD Energy ] Just arrived back from a bike ride; it was so sunny and dry out this morning I thought I'd take the Genesee River Trail into town and do some reading at Java's Cafe . After a hearty cup of Colombia Supremo—there's no better, whatever they say—I decided to explore the nearby Midtown Plaza . I'd heard a lot about the " Clock of Nations ," indoor monorail, famous skybridges, etc. and still had not made a visit. And what better time of the year, huh, it was Christmas in Rochester! In front of Messinger Hall I asked an alert-looking woman walking out of the Eastman Community Music School where the Plaza's main entrance might be located. I'd been in Rochester four month and no one that I'd asked, so far, seemed to really know. She struggled for a while and finally took a guess that it was "catty-corner to the Liberty Pole .&q

We have Web Cams here on the University of Rochester campus that run 24/7 in two places I frequent daily. This spawned the brilliant idea of doing a campus cam appearance for family and friends back home, for no other reason than to "just say hi!" So, there I was on November 18 at 12 noon EST, after notifying everyone via email two weeks before, standing in view of these Web Cams waving wildly at the robotic lens as it swiveled around in my direction. The first stop was Wilson Commons , a huge four story atrium housing the student center, lounges, restaurants and conference rooms, where I stood on the "Hi Mom Balcony" pointing out such U of R attractions as "The Pit," "The Flags" and "Residence Quad." Then I walked a few 100 ft. over to the Eastman Quadrangle , pacing in front of the stately Rush Rhees Library. All this time I was talking to my Mom and my brother Dan and his family on my cellphone, explaining the history and activitie

[Last night I attended the " Off Broadway On Campus " musical review The Bright Side of Life , just to hear this song] Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (from Monty Python) From: Monty Python's Spamalot Words and music by Eric Idle "Some things in life are bad They can really make you mad Other things just make you swear and curse. When you're chewing on life's gristle Don't grumble, give a whistle And this'll help things turn out for the best... "And...always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the light side of life... "If life seems jolly rotten There's something you've forgotten And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing. When you're feeling in the dumps Don't be silly chumps Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing. "And...always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the light side of life..." Click here for the rest of the song, words

I really enjoy exploring the creative thoughts of others, from around the world and especially the Middle East (where cultural roots run deep). I look in libraries, lecture halls, on the streets or wherever and for whomever has a different or new opinion. Bouncing my ideas off someone else's can be exhilarating or exasperating, but always worthwhile to me. So how do I keep from going nuts with all this difference of opinion... The Blind Men and an Elephant! A Jainist version of the story says that six blind men went to determine what the elephant was like. The blind man who touches a leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the tail-toucher claims it's like a rope; the one who feels the trunk compares it to a tree branch; the man who felt the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan; the belly-toucher asserts it's like a wall; and the tusk feeler insists the elephant feels like a solid pipe. A wise man explains to them: All of you are right. The reason every one of you is t

[The students and staff here at U of R have been really nice about allowing me to feel like a normal part of the campus] Last week I saw a flyer on a posting board in one of the "campus tunnels" that caught my attention... and curiosity. It was an invitation for Saturday night to join in the activities of a fraternity sponsored event called "Hookah and Hummus." The location was right nearby my office, I wasn't doing anything else pressing, so I decided to check it out. Now the location is significant because it's the exact center of the campus , the George Eastman Quad ( see Web Cam here ), where six commemorative red marble benches and a 5' stainless steel compass sit in the middle of a large lawn area. The frat brothers, along with some campus coeds, had a huge "and expensive," three hose hookah setup in the center of the compass on the sacred inscription. About 20 people were standing around the compass when I pulled up on my bike around 9:3

Halloween night I went to hear a talk by Patch Adams, held here at the University of Rochester and generously sponsored by the Neilly Series . Patch, as you may already know, is a healthcare physician, professional clown, and founder of the Gesundheit! Institute , a holistic health facility emphasizing laughter and humor as an essential part of the healing process. Robin Williams played Patch Adams in the 1998 movie titled with the eponym. But this night Patch was more than Robin could have ever portrayed on the big screen. Dressed much like his character was in the movie, a ponytail down to the middle of his back and a long earring dangling from one ear, Patch was quite the treat... or trick, depending on your politics . The enormous Strong Memorial Hospital , a top-rated medical training facility, is just around the corner from my office. The auditorium was packed full of med students and Patch was really trying to get them 'fired-up'. Forget capitalism and making the big b

[I walk though this tunnel several times a week on my way to campus libraries, technology centers and food courts] Quietly hidden beneath the UR campus Eastman Quadrangle , lies a 235' long, underground passageway that everyone calls just "the tunnel." This well used, solid concrete corridor is part of a much larger underground pedestrian system that connects eight of UR's integral buildings. But this tunnel is different; painted entirely in passion pink, Smurf blue or you-choose-it —and it can change over night, as it did during this writing—"the tunnel" is also covered from one end to the other in graffiti. "The tunnel" stretches from the Hoyt Auditorium (a large, red brick building: everything is large and red brick at UR) to second tunnel that runs between Morey Hall and Lattimore Hall, after intersecting a third tunnel connecting the Bausch and Lomb Hall and Dewy Hall. Any student that wants to express them self, make a statement or post an ev

Yes, it did snow here last week, can you believe it! It was beautiful, though, looking out over the Genesee River at the huge Rush Rhees Library dome on the UR campus, covered with a light dusting of winter flakes. All this looking, of course, was done from the warm confines of my tenth story apartment. Otherwise... NOT soooo gooood for a California boy, ha! So, now that outdoor activities are at a premium, it's time to enjoy the indoors. On Sunday I went to see my friend Nikola in The Lower Depths at the UR's Todd Theater . He did some nice work! I thought he was talking about a bit part when we used to chat late at night after he got home from classes. But he played a much larger role as Michael, I was impressed! Nice looking stage wife he had, too, that Virginia. Still, I think he could have taken the Walter character during an altercation in the first act&#151Nikola looked much bigger (he lifts weights for entertainment). Kidding aside, all these young actors did a gre

[I'm now working with international, volunteer placement organization Brethern Volunteer Services (BVS) Last weekend was " Meliora Weekend " and the " Head of the Genesee " Invitational Regatta... two of U of R's most high-profiled events. This sixth Meliora Weekend (Meliora is a Latin adjective meaning "better," the schools motto is "always better") hosted some of our nation's prominent speakers talking on issues that were as relevant as they were diverse. Student's parents and all past alumni were invited—I met some guys from the class of '44 that had to move out of their dorm during the war to make room for Army training personnel. This year 18 alumni that had made it big were brought back as featured experts and panelists. Drew Carey and the Improv All-Stars headlined Saturday night. The Improv All-Stars are veterans of the British and Carey-hosted versions of Whose Line is it Anyway? and the roster of All-S

Today I attended "Activities Day" here on the University of Rochester campus. I visited the information table of one of Professor Ebenhack's students, Patrick, a likable guy that come's through my office once a week on his way to see Ben (Professor Ebenhack) in the adjoining office. I like Patrick and have been talking to him about his "alternative energy" ideas. The table was also setup and attended by two of our volunteer students, Mary Ellen and Kean, who are great people and work with us on projects. Patrick has started a local Engineers For A Sustainable World club here on the UR campus and is about to debut his club website as part of his commitment to the parent organization. All three of us were together here in the office a few hours after our staff lunch meeting and I told them I would checkout their setup. One hundred and fifty tables were setup by clubs and organizations, all trying to attract their share of sign-ups, with music, dance performe

[Ant Hill is not only a communal living environment for its residents, but a focal point of the community] I now have a bicycle, a really cool, "blazing-blue trail bike" that was put together by Jimmy, one of the guys around the corner at the "housing co-op" called Ant-Hill Cooperative . They do stuff like that at Ant-Hill, repair and then give away bikes to anyone that they think needs one. On their website it says, "Ant Hill Cooperative is a housing co-op in Rochester, New York. Ant Hill is not only a communal living environment for its residents, but a focal point of the community. Along with our friends at the EcoHouse (an environmentally-themed house up the street), Ant Hill is dedicated to a new type of community in Rochester, based on better lives by working together." The Ants, as I affectionately call them, have a make-shift bike shop setup in their basement. They also provide drop-in co-op meals for $3 each , just give them a 48 hour head

No, I haven't gotten lonely, yet; I have several co-workers here at the office, university students drop in every day to volunteer time and expertise on AHEAD's many projects and there are many people in my neighborhood... Then, there's always a trip to "Flour City." On Saturday I went for a hike down along Rochester's downtown water front (about a mile away) and, as you might expect, it's beautiful—you can even drive your boat right up to your apartment building, if you live at the newly built Corn Hill Landing. I also visited High Falls on Genesee River a few blocks away, a 90 foot waterfall right in the middle of town. They once called Rochester "Flour City," because of the numerous grain mills that capitalized on the water power at the falls. I've been told that the flour was once so famous Queen Victoria would only eat bread made from it—she even visited the area once. There were many large, historic relics left behind that you are all

[I'm here in "the-weather-changes-every-15-minutes" Rochester!] Having completed our 20 days of Orientation ( see photos ) and the closing ceremonies at New Windsor on Friday, Unit #270 BVSers said their goodbyes "several times" before departing on trains, planes or in automobiles that would rush them off to their assignments. My assignment, working on alternative energy solutions for underdeveloped countries with AHEAD Energy Corporation , located in Rochester, NY at the University of Rochester. The weather here has been cloudy and rainy for three days, so I've been thinking about all of you enjoying those warm, sunny California days. I was staying with the founder of AHEAD and his wife, Ben and MJ, in their beautifully landscaped, country style home til I moved into my own two-story house just a block away from the Genesee River . The Genesee River's name is derived from the Iroquois meaning good valley or pleasant valley for anyone interested

It's been four weeks since I left my BVS Unit #270 friends in New Windsor, MD and completed my 20 days of Orientation. On a beautiful Friday morning, after breakfast, we all gathered on the "great lawn" in front of the "big white," Civil War era, brick building for the closing ceremonies. In traditional BVS fashion we said goodbye to each other exactly 21 times in a curious, circular choreography that took almost a half hour. Now I can look back on Unit #270 with humor and affection thanks to the many photos taken by our Unit's staff, Genelle (back row, far right) and Becky (2nd row, far right) and several BVSers. Our Orientation was a very well planned and directed three weeks of education, field trips, games, and a great deal of "just having fun." I've seldom seen such a health melding of so many diverse personalities, and mine being as diverse as they come. Joe (left photo), a Mid-Westerner who I admired for his stand on issues , once told m

DAY 20 of "A Journey with the Brethren" On the last day of our four day visit to Baltimore, where we experienced living among the disadvantaged and "left behind" at a men's shelter and rehabilitation center, we changed our focus slightly to spent a day at Jonah House of the Plowshares Project. Jonah House is located at 1301 Moreland Avenue on the grounds of a very old Irish/Catholic cemetery in west Baltimore called St. Peter's Cemetery. Yes, it's located right inside the perimeter of the old cemetery! The house, built by the organization in 1995, is large two story that, with it's natural-wood shiplap siding, actually resembles a "ship of old." Roman Catholic Dominican Sisters Ardeth Platte, Carol Gilbert (photo), Jackie Hudson, along with Jesuit Priest Steve Kelly, are the principle residence of Jonah House. A faith-based, nonviolent resistance community, Jonah House began as a community in 1973 with a group of people that wante

DAY 17 of "A Journey with the Brethren" One of the more intense training sessions here at Orientation was a trip into Baltimore's inner city for four days to experience homelessness and to do service projects. To better understand the pangs of the disadvantaged we slept and ate each day at a homeless shelter for men called I Can, Inc. "I Can" is an acronym for "Individual, Character, Attitude and Newness of mind." Setup in a historic four story, granite block structure that was once a Catholic girls school called St. Ann's (dating back to 1927), I Can Inc. is located at 2215 Greenmount Avenue:  deep in the heart of Baltimore . Baltimore is mostly a devastated area due to a population that began fleeing to the suburbs in the 50s and the city is only now undergoing a major building spree in the downtown area, specifically in the Inner Harbor East district. The men's shelter and rehabilitation center at 2215 Greenmount Avenue is certainly i

DAY 11 of "A Journey with the Brethren" Drop-off Day is a BVS tradition that goes back to at least the 70s and has changed very little. It's a day that we as volunteers begin to learn some things about giving and about each other. The essence of Drop-off Day is in volunteers going out into the communities around New Windsor and asking residents for work, odd jobs, inside or outside chores... anything they need done. The work is strictly accomplished at no charge and no donations can be accepted , no proselytizing and the project can be as hard or as long as the resident requests. Ok, this might sound strange at first glance, so to put this particular training session into perspective let me say just a little about BVS. Brethren Volunteer Service is not a church or a religion, but rather a service arm and ministry of the Church of the Brethren. It all started 60 years ago when some idealistic young people of the Church of the Brethren, on their own, began freely he

DAY 8 of "A Journey with the Brethren" There are many lessons to learn here at the Brethren Service Center—the host facility for BVS's training called "Orientation." Some of our training involves physical and mental exercises in sociology and human behaviour. One recent lesson taught by Susanna, a wonderful instructor from an associated BVS organization On Earth Peace ," involved thumb wrestling. "The Brethren Service Center (BSC) in New Windsor, Maryland, has been helping people in need for more than fifty years. Owned and operated by the Church of the Brethren General Board, BSC houses organizations that work in areas of relief and development, disaster response, social justice and peace education . The facilities include the New Windsor Conference Center, Emergency Response/Service Ministries, SERRV International, Inc., On Earth Peace Assembly (OEPA) and the administrative offices of Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc. (I.M.A.)." —BSC Website

DAY 7 of "A Journey with the Brethren" We spend much of our time while in class on the second floor of the Brethren Service Center's hotel called Zigler Hall: a large, brick building complete with cafeteria, library and meeting rooms. But at other times, we go on exploratory field trips—like Grace Lafever's Weed Walk. Grace Lafever, 83 years old and wearing a tan T-shirt with a long list of herbs printed on the back, is a marvelous specimen of someone who has lived her life growing, eating and selling good food. This was our first field trip, a visit to Grace's 60 acre Sonnewald Farm in Spring Grove, a village about 8 miles southwest of York, Pa., to learn about organic gardening and to experience Grace's famous edible and medicinal "Weed Walk." We spent the day getting a very personal tour of Grace's ranch, a lecture on the virtues of eating weeds right out of the lawn, tasting the wild green morsels as we went along, and ended up being tr

DAY 1 of "A Journey with the Brethren" I arrived safely here in New Windsor, Maryland on Sunday evening after a 6 1/6 hour flight and a 50 mile drive from Baltimore Washington International Airport. All is going very well, but there is so much happening each day—with scheduled classroom sessions from 8:30a 'til 9:30p, fun field trips to places miles away, impromptu political and cultural chats with my new friends and lots of just plain goofing around —that I haven't been able to get anything (email or Blog updates) out until now. Saturday night, July 29, as I was standing on the sidewalk outside my house waiting for the Super Shuttle to take me to the airport, the neighbor kids across the street were still saying their goodbyes to me. I received many "repeat farewells" like those the kids were giving me from friends and relatives three or four time before I finally left the City of Sacramento, CA at 10:45p. Huston International is an enormous airpor

[I had some reservations, so I began to work on them] I may not have the same beliefs as you... nor may I be seeking the same objective, but after learning more about you, I believe we might share some of the same values : "Advocating Justice, Working for Peace, Serving Basic Human Needs, Maintaining the Integrity of Creation. "Sharing and examining personal beliefs and values with the intent of growing in understanding of self, others and God. "Learning ways to live simply and responsibly with the world’s limited resources. "Becoming more aware of people and situations throughout the world, including responsibilities of membership in the global family. "Exploring ways to enable personal and societal change that embody mutuality and nonviolence."  Adapted from Goals of Brethren Volunteer Service   And... respecting each other.   I'll be going into this new experience looking for more than just a volunteer position, I'll want to become part of B

After a year and a half of application processing to secure a volunteer position, first with the Peace Corps and now with BVS (Brethren Volunteer Service), I have finally been accepted and will begin serving a two year commitment overseas OR in the states, 'til a position overseas opens up. I was initially scheduled to serve in the Pacific Region with the Peace Corps last year, having met all the qualifications and given a departure date. Then, one month before I was to leave, the Corps' Medical Staff deferred me —see my post Peace Corps-ee escapes East Timor —due to a herniated disc. The Medical Staff gave me a good recommendation and a list of referrals to similar organizations that might be less medically strict. BVS was my first choice, comparable to the Peace Corps and willing to work with me concerning the above health issue. They are a privately funded, faith based, non-profit that welcomes anyone to serve with them, regardless of beliefs. It's kind of a clearing

[Days later I realized that I forgot all about any money I had made and found it lying under some papers in, of course, the garage] Yes, today was the day I hosted that inevitable "garage sale" that we all must endure when preparing to move out of our over stuffed homes, setting our sails towards the next adventure. I hate the garage sale, the sitting outside in my driveway for hours, the bartering with strangers over my personal property to eke out a tiny recompense for stuff I probably never should have purchased and hardly ever used. But attempting to make something fruitful out of this seemingly time wasted, as I try to do with most things in my life, I set out to do the task right . I got up early and started creating the signage that would convert unaware Saturday divers into potential customers: one for the corner of the main thoroughfare near my house sporting an arrow pointing my way, another one at the next corner again pointing the way and finally, using a full she

On July 30 I'll be leaving behind my happy home in Sacramento, CA to live on the other side of the country in the small, conservative town of New Windsor, MD. I'll be on a self-imposed mission, a human rights assignment, an adventure of a lifetime , doing something I've not done before, with people I don't know, in a town I've never heard of and only recently seen on a map. I'll be reporting on my "Journey with the Brethren" from this Blog to give insight into the organization where I'll be a volunteer for the next two years. So to start my sojourn, I thought it would fun and maybe even educational to profile the two locations—they appear to be very diverse. My destination... New Windsor is a town located in Carroll County, Maryland. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 1,303... 491 households, and 369 families residing in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 95.24% White, 3.84% African American, 0.08% Native Amer

[My theology doesn't have a name, the best I can come up with is deist... and it sure looks like I'm in good company] There's been much talk lately about Michael Newdow, a Californian atheist who has fought a series of legal battles seeking to bar religious references from American public life suing to remove the phrase " In God We Trust " from U.S. money and coins. No doubt this latest battle over how much GOD we want in our government will take a long time to be resolved, but before we really get started, let's consider this: The first six and four later Presidents of the United States had strong deistic or allied beliefs. Deism (the belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation) was championed by Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and some of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Thom

[Last night PBS-KVIE aired a "stirring" Independent Lens documentary called The Real Dirt on Farmer John ; think we don't need our farms] Los Angeles - 15 Jun 2006 Los Angeles Police Forcibly Evict and Bulldoze the South Central Farm Despite widespread popular resistance, including years of struggle against the city and developers on the part of farmers, a three-week old occupation and treesit, a successful effort to raise millions of dollars in order to try to buy the land on which the farm stood - a bid which was ultimately rejected, and a day full of nonviolent civil disobedience including lockdowns and blockades, the largest urban farm in the United States was evicted on the morning of June 13th. The farm, which had been started on property taken from developers under eminent domain laws after the 1992 popular uprising following the videotaped police beating of Rodney King, and which provided healthy food for over three hundred and fifty families as well as

"What if" you doggedly drew the living room window shades open one morning and this was the scene in your neighborhood... I have a particular fascination with world events, follow them daily, and find international conflicts and struggles for democracy, theocracy and anarchy WAY more interesting than our own homegrown, getting staler-by-the-day politics. With 42 countries hosting current conflicts and/or hearing the rumblings of civil war, there is plenty of material to cover and I'm always looking for better ways to do it. "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." —Benjamin Franklin, 1759 Flashpoints does a terrific job of illustrating and analyzing ongoing conflicts around the world. On their website they say "Flashpoints strives to provide the information needed to make informed judgements about the nature of specific violent political conflicts , the aspirations of the advers

[I found that the Peace Corps offered some of the most exciting possibilities I've encountered in my search to serve] One of today's CNN.com headlines reads: Timor violence spreads beyond Dili . The piece goes on to say, "Attackers burned down a district office of East Timor's ruling party on Thursday, the Parliament's speaker said. It was the first reported violence outside the capital since fighting broke out in Dili last month. The attack occurred in the town of Gleno, the capital of Ermera district, lawmaker Francisco Guterres said. A group of rebel soldiers who were dismissed in March and have clashed with government forces are based in the area." What does this news story have to do with the Peace Corps? Last year, having had twenty-five successful years in business, deciding there's no end to having enough money and looking for something more meaningful to do with my life, I applied for a two year commitment with the Peace Corps . It was a long, b

Sudan and California, albeit far fetched and worlds apart, may be running a strange immigration parallel? Although over-shadowed by Iraq warring, petty politics and lately the Iranian nuclear threat, the recent news on Sudan has actually been a continuous but muted headline for over three years. As many as 400,000 people have died and two million more have been driven from their homes since 2003 in the western Darfur region. " It's been described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis and threatening to get worse ," Fred De Sam Lazaro—PBS. Sudan's recent crisis dates back to their long-standing, illegal immigration policy and a unforeseen drought. Illegal immigration into Sudan from neighboring impoverished countries was not only ignored but invited as a national tradition, as long as times were good. Then the drought came and the people's attitudes suddenly changed. While I have yet to declare a firm position on immigration, I did find a strange parall